Invasion of Lion Fish in the Caribbean

Jean Michel Machefert · Issue 99, Nov/Dec 2017 · pp. 64–68

Products mentioned: Nikon D2x, Aquatica housing, Tokina 10-17mm, Sigma 17-70mm, Nikon SB 910, Patima housing

Invasion of Lion Fish in the Caribbean a gift for photographers but a poison for the biodiversity by Jean Michel Machefert Before 2010 all the pictures of Lion fishes were taken either in the Red Sea or in the Indian Ocean or Pacific Ocean. Now since few years as soon as you dive in the Caribbean Sea in shallow or deep water you will have the opportunity to see Lion fishes. How can it be? The Caribbean Sea is known to be a hotspot for biodiversity with more than 12 000 different species and with quite a lot of endemic species (For example, about 45% of the fish species here are considered Caribbean endemics). Since the closure of the Isthmus of Panama recently estimated 10 million years ago the marine organisms are isolated on each side of the land (this is called allopatric speciation by biologists) and then their evolution is different from one side to the other, explaining the specifi…